"The victim in this case suffered bruising to her neck and severe haemorrhaging to her head and face caused by the pressure exerted by Holden and which took a significant amount of time for her to recover from.

"Therefore clearly the consequences of this incident could have been far more serious.

"Understandably the victim was extremely traumatised by what happened and there is no excuse for the ordeal Andrew Holden put her through."

The attack happened on February 13 at Holden's home in Greenhithe, Kent.